vesper
UK /ˈvɛspə/ · US /ˈvɛspɚ/ noun, adjective, proper noun
Forms vespers
- noun The bell that summons worshippers to vespers; the vesper-bell.
- noun (poetic) The evening.
- noun A vesper martini.
- noun A vesper bat. “Almost all vespers are insect catchers.”
- adjective (poetic) Evening.
- proper noun The planet Venus as the evening star.
- proper noun A surname from German.
- proper noun A locality in the Shire of Baw Baw, south eastern Victoria, Australia.
Synonyms
Hesperus evenstar Phosphorus Eosphorus Lucifer morning star Venus evening star
Etymology
From Old French vespre, from Latin vesper (“evening star”). The martini name was coined by English novelist Ian Fleming in 1953 in his novel Casino Royale, where fictional secret agent James Bond concocts the recipe and names it after the character Vesper Lynd.
Borrowed from Latin vesper (“evening star”).
Borrowed from German Vesper.
Unknown.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. Shak.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the evening, or to the service of vespers; as, a vesper hymn; vesper bells. Vesper sparrow, the grass finch. See under Grass.
Etymology [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vesper”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details